Ecomorphology of the African felid ensemble: the role of the skull and postcranium in determining species segregation and assembling history

MORALES MM; GIANNINI, NP

JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2013 p. 1 - 13

1010-061X

Morphology of extant felids is regarded as highly conservative. Most previousstudies have focussed on skull morphology, so a vacuum exists aboutmorphofunctional variation in postcranium and its role in structuringensembles of felids in different continents. The African felid ensemble isparticularly rich in ecologically specialized felids. We studied the ecomorphologyof this ensemble using 31 cranial and 93 postcranial morphometricvariables measured in 49 specimens of all 10 African species. We took amultivariate approach controlling for phylogeny, with and without body sizecorrection. Postcranial and skull + postcranial analyses (but not skull-onlyanalyses) allowed for a complete segregation of species in morphospace.Morphofunctional factors segregating species included body size, bite force,zeugopodial lengths and osteological features related to parasagittal legmovement. A general gradient of bodily proportions was recovered: lightlybuilt, long-legged felids with small heads and weak bite forces vs. the opposite.Three loose groups were recognized: small terrestrial felids, mid-to-largesized scansorial felids and specialized Acinonyx jubatus and Leptailurus serval.As predicted from a previous study, the assembling of the African felidensemble during the Plio-Pleistocene occurred by the arrival of distinct felidlineages that occupied then vacant areas of morphospace, later diversifyingin the continent.